WOAI Local News Sponsored by Five Star Cleaners

McAllister Park Little League Leads Inductees into San Antonio Sports Hall of Fame

"The A-Train" and the 2009 McAllister Park Little League All Stars lead the 2014 list of inductees tot he San Antonio Spurs Hall of Fame, 1200 WOAI news reports.

"While they were busy stealing bases, they were also busy stealing our hearts," San Antonio Sports chairman George Block said of the Little Leaguers, who went deep into the Little League World Series, and the team's coaches were recognized nationally as examples of how to guide young men through athletic coaching.

The team captured the imagination of the San Antonio area, and when they returned from Williamsport Pennsylvania, they received a river parade, an honor usually reserved for the NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs.

"A-Train" Artis Gilmore was honored for his five years with the San Antonio Spurs, and his 909 regular season NBA games. Gilmore is one of 24 players to score a total of 20,000 points in the NBA and AMA combined, and was an All-Star in 11 or his 17 years as a pro.

"It was an extraordinary experience for my family and me to be in San Antonio," said Gilmore, who played with the Spurs from 1982 through 1987. "I am truly honored to be selected as a member of the San Antonio Hall of Fame."

Gilmore's coach in his first year as a Spur, Stan Albeck, is also among the honorees. Albeck coached the Spurs from 1980-1983, with a 153-93 record and three playoff appearances.

The fourth inductee is the father of pari-mutuel horse racing in Texas, the late Joe Straus Senior.

Straus was one of the original investors in the San Antonio Spurs, and his most famous race horse, No Le Hace, placed second in the 1972 Kentucky Derby and Preakness.

Straus, who died in 1984, was also a driving force behind the coming of horse racing to Texas.